A clinician explains when radiofrequency ablation works for thyroid nodules: only when you're certain it's benign, usually after two biopsies confirm it. RFA takes a month or more to shrink the nodule and isn't for cases where cancer can't be ruled out.
Chapters
There are a few different kinds of nodules, right? There are benign types of nodules that are not concerning for cancer, that can be small or they can actually be big enough where they bother people, they have difficulty swallowing or changes in their voice, et cetera. And then there are cancerous nodules that we want to kind of monitor or that create concern. And then there are hot nodules or toxic nodules that lead to an overproduction of thyroid hormones and graves like symptoms or hyperthyroidism. I'd love for you to take us through how RFA is applicable or isn't applicable for each of these scenarios. I know you've done a lot of research on this and work in, in depth in this kind of area. So take us through it.
With radio frequency ablation, we start from a position of saying you have to know as close as you can to assure knowledge that it's not cancer. So that means at least two benign biopsies. And for me, the patient has an indeterminate biopsy. That means there's a chance that there's cancer in there. And I'm not excited about treating people where there might be cancer inside with rfa. But if you're very confident that it's a benign nodule, then we go through the treatment cycle and it's. As a surgeon, I'm all about instant gratification, and RFA is not like that. It usually takes at least a month before you even start to feel that it's starting to shrink.
